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by lilacadenza
Summary: A lazy Sunday in the TARDIS. Donna recounts a tale of two little boys from her childhood who remind her of the two men who are currently travelling with her.


The Doctor awoke with a still sleeping Master next to him. His mouth was slightly open and there was some drool escaping his lips. The Doctor wiped the corner of his sleeping companion's mouth and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

He really didn't ever think his life would ever be this grand again after having to destroy his home, but here he was, travelling with his two best friends across time and space. He felt more at home now than he ever did on Gallifrey.

He put on his robe and walked into the library. He decided that today was a great day to have a lazy day in. It must have been Sunday somewhere, right? He made himself a cup of tea and nestled into his favorite chair next to the fireplace, and coincidentally, the swimming pool.

"It's not really a good idea to put books in the same room as a pool, don't you think? Or a fireplace? Well, I suppose if they caught on fire, you could dunk them in the pool...but then they'd be all wet." he saw Donna in her robe and slippers in front of him.

"Good morning, I thought we would just have a nice day in. It's been long since we've had one of those." The Doctor greeted as she approached.

"Well good, because I wasn't planning on changing into actual clothes today." She chuckled. "I guess the planet Felspoon just wore me down. Swaying mountains, how about that? We might have had more time to look at them if we didn't have to stop that rebellion. But, it was nice that we had three pairs of hands instead of the usual two. How is Mr. Harry doing?" Donna asked with a grin on her face.

"Just fine, thanks. But I'm not so sure he's going to appreciate you calling him Harry, Donna." The Doctor replied.

"Well, if he didn't want me to call him that, then maybe he shouldn't have called himself Harold for over a year. There's no way I will ever be calling him 'master.'" Donna retorted. "And besides, he's grown quite fond of me, I think. Just the other day, I was sitting in my room and he comes in and brings me a cup of tea."

"Speaking of, do you want some?" The Doctor gestured toward the tea leaves. Donna silently affirms and walks over to make herself some tea while the Doctor continues. "And, just be careful. He's a tricky one, the Master. Sometimes gets bored and does what he can to entertain himself. That's why I brought him out on the planet with us. I just had to let him get adjusted to travelling with me first."

"And he's tuckered out, bless him. Is he still asleep?" The Doctor nods. Donna came and took the chair next to him, tea in hand. "We'll let him sleep then. He's got all the time in the world."

"In the universe." The Doctor flashed a toothy smile.

"He must make you a very happy man to be able to conjure a smile that wide. Careful, or you'll split your face in half!" Donna teased.

"What can I say, things are...fantastic. Getting to spend all of my time with my two best friends in the entire universe...It's hard to not smile, I'll tell you that." The Doctor continued sipping his tea.

"Well, I'm just your best friend, he's something entirely different."

"Donna-"

"No, I'm just saying. It's sweet, you and him. It reminds me of a couple of boys I met a long time ago, gosh maybe when I was about six years old."

The Doctor sat up and placed his mug down, intrigued. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I remember my mum said that there would be no holiday that year, and I was so upset that I got on a bus headed to Strathclyde! Six years old!" She laughed. "No wonder it's been hard for me to keep a man."

"Wow, that's-"

"I know! What was I thinking? But of course, when you're young, you think you're invincible don't you? Anyway, I got off the bus not too far from home, though it seemed like I was on a different planet or something-" The Doctor grinned. "-and that, plus the idea that there wasn't going to be a holiday that year overwhelmed me and I just started crying."

"And none of the adults noticed any of this happening?" The Doctor questioned.

"Nah, they were too busy with their own lives to help out a crying, redheaded little girl at a bus stop. There was, however, this little boy who I spotted across the street. He was dressed a bit odd, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him either. He also had this friend with him, dressed the same way. As soon as he caught my eye, he started running across the street, in full on traffic...seems like something you would do, Doctor, to be honest"

The Doctor tried to stay as silent as possible, as realization was dawning upon him. He gave a nervous laugh. "Ha, yeah, probably."

"Probably what?" The Master voiced from across the room, his hair an indication that he had not gotten up but a few minutes ago.

"Oh Harry-" The Master cringed at that name but kept silent. "-come sit, I was just telling a story of these two boys that I met that remind me of you and the Doctor." Donna motioned for him to come near them.

"Anyway, his friend stayed behind and waited for traffic to clear before joining the strange little boy now wiping away my tears."

"Oh hey, what a coincidence! Something exactly like that happened to-"

"Master, don't interrupt. Let her finish." The Doctor chimed in before the Master could reveal anything. Donna stayed silent for a while as she noticed the two time lords having a telepathic conversation in front of her. She decided that they might stay like that forever if she didn't start talking again, so she spoke up.

"Anyway, the little boy, he was blonde by the way, and his friend had dark black hair-"

"Raven colored, would you say?" The Master inquired before the Doctor could shush him.

"I guess?" She gave both of them a weird look. "The little boy was stroking my hair, like he had never seen anything like it before, and his friend stood patiently behind him, like this was a common occurrence between them-"

"Oh you don't know how common it was." the Master mumbled and the Doctor kicked him. "Sorry, continue."

"And he told me to follow him, which, looking back on it now probably wasn't the best case of judgement six year old me had, but...we crossed the street again and...huh, I don't really remember the rest, except when the police came looking for me. But oh, they were such sweet boys, so much like yourselves."

"Did you find out what their names were?" The Master asked with a grin on his face.

"Master..." The Doctor warned.

"Oh, they weren't common names, but of course, they were very uncommon little boys, hmmm, let's see...I think I heard the little blonde boy called the dark one something that started with a 'K' and the blonde introduced himself to me as another name, a strange name, but his friend called him Theta." The Doctor blushed profusely.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Donna questioned as she saw the pink in his cheeks.

"No, nothing, I just-"

"Hey, you know what?" The Master feigned a sudden realization. "The Doctor's nickname in school was Theta! What a coincidence!" The Master gleefully cheered.

"Oh, that is uncanny-wait where are you going?" The Doctor was dragging the Master away at the speed of light.

"He needs to take his medicine." The Doctor answered.

"I don't take medicine!" The Master tried to wriggle away.

"And that is exactly why you need it, forgetting already! Excuse us, Donna, we might be a while." The Doctor tightened his grip on him.

"Oh, but I must say, lovely story, Ms. Noble. We must tell you more of ours-OW!" The Doctor tugged on his ear and both of them were out the door.

Donna chuckled to herself. They had all the time in the universe at their disposal. She drank her tea as a toast to herself, and for the lost little boys she met some 30-odd years ago...they were all finally home.


End file.
